Cline System Prompt

Overview (confidence: high)

Cline uses a full XML envelope with tool schema extensions and a skills directory gate. It combines the most instruction pattern families of any tool in the corpus (12+). It is a multi-file agent system with a shared base prompt and mode-specific prompts loaded on demand.

Envelope Format (confidence: high)

Full XML envelope with narrow tag hierarchy (3-5 top-level tags). Tool descriptions use structured <tool> blocks with <parameters> sub-blocks. The XML structure follows the xml-envelope-format standard established by Anthropic’s tool-use API, with extensions for Cline’s specific capabilities.

Patterns Used (confidence: high)

• Chain-of-thought before acting: Explicit structured “think step by step” instructions
• Task state machine: Todo-list lifecycle (pending → active → done → verified) with explicit completion criteria
• Plan-before-implement gate: Must produce a plan before writing code
• Skills directory gate: Before any task, checks a curated skills directory for a matching skill, then routes accordingly
• Public CoT display: All reasoning is visible to the user
• Multi-command parallel execution: Uses && chaining for dependent commands

Guardrails (confidence: high)

Security rules covering commit secrets, dangerous commands, and file permissions. Cooldown heuristics for error recovery — if errors exceed threshold, pause and ask for guidance. Redirect refusal pattern (“I can’t do X, but I can do Y instead”).

Unique Features (confidence: high)

• Versioning and update instructions at the top of the prompt
• Skills directory: Enables extension without modifying the core prompt
• Multi-file architecture: Base prompt + mode-specific prompts

Implications (confidence: high)

Cline combines the most patterns of any tool in the corpus (12+ instruction families). Its XML envelope with embedded tool schemas sets a standard for structured prompt design. The skills directory gate enables extension without modifying the core prompt.

Sources

• [raw/prompts/articles/taxonomy-synthesis-2026-07-16.md]